Google has exceeded $1 billion Africa investment target

JOHANNESBURG, July 1 : Google has exceeded a five-year target to invest $1 billion in Africa, it said on Wednesday, as it made public initiatives on infrastructure and development of AI to accelerate the continent's digital growth.

They follow on from Google's launch of a cloud for the Johannesburg region in 2025.

Here are the details of the new initiatives that Google, owned by Alphabet, announced at the first Africa Cloud Summit in Johannesburg.

• Google will establish a connectivity hub in South Africa's Eastern Cape, the first of four planned connectivity hubs on the continent.

• The facility will link Africa to Australia via the Umoja subsea cable and to India through a new route, strengthening internet resilience and capacity.

• Africa's first applied AI lab in Ghana will pair local startups with Google researchers and provide early access to its AI models.

• A more than $1 million programme in partnership with UK actor Idris Elba's Akuna Group will train underrepresented creators in AI-driven storytelling.

• Google's Economic and Community Development programme and WeThinkCode have committed to build a 3 million rand ($183,468) digital innovation centre in Soweto, Johannesburg.

• Google also said its startup accelerator programme will back 15 South African firms as part of Google's pledge to back 50 African ventures between 2024 and 2028.

• "The AI opportunity for Africa is significant, and Google is committed to doing our part working with Africans to help Africa realise it," James Manyika, Google's senior vice president for research and technology, told reporters.

($1 = 16.3516 rand)